Don’t focus on making new Twitter clients.
The message has been very clear — well, moderately clear — for weeks now. If you’re a third-party looking to develop in the Twitter ecosystem, you should focus on data or niche experiences. Good thing Tweetbot didn’t listen.
If you’ve looked at Twitter tonight, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the massive amount of buzz surrounding Tweetbot. It’s a new Twitter iPhone client made by Tapbots. And yes, it is very good. → Read More
Back in August, I first got to try out the Twitter Streaming API via the User Streams feature which was being beta tested on a new version on popular third-party client TweetDeck. “Twitter User Streams Is Crack For Realtime Web Junkies,” was the title I went with. For this post, I sort of wanted to use the title “If User Streams Is Crack, Twitter For Mac Is A Crack Pipe.” Then I thought better of it. Actually, I didn’t. I’m simply mentioning it now instead of in the title because I thought the title I used was a bit more in line with what I actually wanted to say.
But the truth is that the newly launched Twitter for Mac is one of the most addicting, and more importantly, engaging, products I can recall seeing. Just watching it update in realtime is fascinating enough. But when you actually start to have a conversation with people and can see them responding to you in realtime, it becomes more like an IM service instead of the way we’ve typically viewed Twitter: with static one-off messages and maybe a reply here or there. And I’m wondering if now that Twitter has added the realtime User Streams to an official product, if it won’t fundamentally alter Twitter itself? → Read More
About an hour ago, we wrote up the hot rumor that Tweetie 2 for Mac would be launching alongside the Mac App Store tomorrow morning. The source of that information was a site called Razorianfly which posted an image they received of the product, which is being renamed “Twitter for Mac”. We can now confirm that the screenshot is very real, we’ve heard from a reliable source.
Further, we noted that Twitter was being unusually quiet about the image/news — they won’t respond to any inquiries about it! Well, there’s a good reason for that too. We’ve heard that the shot was actually leaked by someone within Apple and there’s currently a hunt underway to figure out who it was. That means Apple likely has both companies on lockdown. They are not happy. → Read More
This afternoon, a site called Razorianfly posted a very interesting tidbit of information along with a purported screenshot to back it up. According to the site, Tweetie 2.0 for Mac is launching tomorrow alongside the Mac App Store.
If true, this is big news for Mac users who have long feared that the beloved app had been left for dead since Twitter acquired Tweetie and its developer, Loren Brichter, back in April of last year. That acquisition included both the iPhone and Mac versions of the software. But while Tweetie for iPhone was relatively quickly turned into Twitter for iPhone, Tweetie for Mac has only seen minimal bug fixes. Meanwhile, Brichter was hard at work on Twitter for iPad. → Read More
When Twitter bought Atebits in April, a lot of us were excited about the possibilities. After all, Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) was the company behind Tweetie, the best iPhone Twitter client and arguably the best desktop Twitter client as well (though Mac-only). Developers, however, were not as enthusiastic. Many wondered what it meant for the state of the Twitter third-party ecosystem.
So far, the results of the acquisition seem to have worked out well for everyone. Tweetie for the iPhone was reborn as Twitter for iPhone. And while it’s largely the same, it has added a few bells and whistles thanks to the tighter Twitter integration. But other third-party clients, such as Seesmic and TweetDeck, have continued to thrive as well.
But make no mistakes, Twitter is still working on the next killer client. → Read More
When Twitter bought Atebits, the company behind the excellent iPhone Twitter client, Tweetie, there was some concern it would slow down development of that app. Luckily, it doesn’t look like that has happened. As today, Twitter for iPhone version 3.0.1 has just launched, and with it comes suport for both iOS 4 and iPhone 4.
In fact, while other huge apps on the iPhone, such as Facebook, lag behind in supporting the newest iPhone functionality, Twitter is one of the first to implement some of the useful new features. → Read More
We already knew it was hours if not minutes away – see TechCrunch US report – and it’s perhaps no surprise that New Zealand gets the goods ahead of Europe and the US (a bit like New Year’s day).
Yes folks, the official Twitter app for iPhone is here, you know the one expected based on Tweetie ever since Twitter bought the company.
We expect other iPhone app stores around the world to propagate shortly. → Read More
We already knew it was hours if not minutes away – see our earlier report – and it’s perhaps no surprise that New Zealand gets the goods ahead of Europe and the US (a bit like New Year’s day).
Yes folks, the official Twitter app for iPhone is here, you know the one expected based on Tweetie ever since Twitter bought the company.
We expect other iPhone app stores around the world to propagate shortly. → Read More
Just as we suspected late last night, Twitter removed Tweetie 2 for the App Store yesterday to make room for the newly rebranded “Twitter for iPhone.” It’s there right now in the App Store, labeled as simply “Twitter” — but you can’t download it just yet, as it’s likely still in the process of being put up.
Without being able to see the app just yet, the thing that immediately jumps out is that it’s labeled as “Version 3.0″ — this suggests there will be some upgrades (beyond just the name) from Tweetie 2 (which, of course, was version 2.0). That said, Twitter for iPhone is actually smaller in file size than Tweetie 2 was (2.4 MB versus 2.8 MB), so I’m not sure what that means. That also doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility that an iPad version of the app is included. → Read More
Something is amiss in the App Store right now. The best Twitter client, Tweetie 2, is nowhere to be found. So where did it fly off to? Did Apple pull it for some violation? Unlikely. Instead, the app’s new owners, Twitter, probably took it down. Why? Because their own version, dubbed “Twitter for iPhone,” is likely about to be released.
We see this happen all the time. For example, last week, the mobile payment startup Square was removed from the App Store just prior to the launch of its newly iPhone and iPad compatible app. Companies often remove their apps voluntarily to ensure the newest version is released when they choose. What this likely means is that Apple has already approved the new Twitter for iPhone, and now Twitter just has to put it in the store. → Read More
Before Twitter bought Atebits, Loren Brichter was busy. Not only was he hard at work on a follow up to Tweetie for Mac and a version for the iPad, but he had a secret side project that no one knew about. Until now. Meet Textie.
Textie is a dead-simple application with one purpose: free and beautiful texting for the iPhone and iPod touch. Given what a complete and utter rip-off traditional text messaging is, it’s a little surprising that there hasn’t been any backlash against the format. Instead, it’s exploding in usage. But as apps such as TextPlus have proven, there’s clearly a market for people who want to send messages without the fees. While TextPlus focuses mainly on group texting, Textie’s angle is to keep things clean and simple. The key ingredient is the interaction between the app and email. → Read More
Earlier this month when Twitter bought Atebits, aka Loren Brichter, the maker of the best iPhone Twitter client, Tweetie, they promised that Tweetie wouldn’t die. Instead it was to be turned into Twitter for iPhone. That update now appears to be coming soon.
In the final update to Tweetie 2 (2.1.2) that just went live in the App Store, the “What’s New” notes tell of a “Suprise!” The surprise is that when you pull down your tweet stream to refresh, you’re greeted with a new slot machine graphic. Hold it down long enough and the slot machine starts spinning. If it comes up with the right combo, you get a message that reads, “Coming Soon! Tweetie will be Twitter for iPhone (Look for the next app update)” → Read More
Twitter has just announced that it acquired Tweetie, the very popular and highly polished Twitter application for the iPhone . The application will now be called “Twitter for iPhone” and will drop from $2.99 to free, with developer Loren Brichter (who makes up the one-man startup Atebits) joining the Twitter mobile team. Twitter also plans to launch Twitter for the iPad, which Brichter will be involved with.
It’s a move that manages to be both jarring and unsurprising at the same time. Unsurprising, because Twitter investor Fred Wilson recently wrote that Twitter developers needed to stop “filling holes” in Twitter’s product and instead build entirely separate businesses. And just this morning, Twitter launched an official Twitter for BlackBerry application, so another mobile application shouldn’t come as much of a shock. And yet, the iPhone is the platform with the most robust Twitter presence, and Twitter has no doubt been benefiting from the contributions of these developers. Tweetie is extremely polished and is arguably the best, but there are plenty of other quality applications that are getting hung out to dry. Still, a move like this seemed inevitable. → Read More
While Loren Brichter may be hard at work on Tweetie Two for the Mac, he hasn’t given on his baby: Tweetie 2 for the iPhone. While the app hasn’t been updated since late November, a new build is due shortly with one big addition: native Foursquare support.
What this means is that anytime someone in your tweet stream sends out a tweet from Foursquare (which, to the annoyance of some users, happens automatically at times), that Foursquare link (shown as a 4sq.com URL) will be able to be opened in Tweetie in a way that displays the location information in a nice format. When a tweet is eligible for this feature, you’ll see a purple square logo in the upper right hand corner of the tweet in Tweetie. → Read More
Last October, developer Loren Brichter set the App Store on fire with the sequel to his brilliant iPhone Twitter client, Tweetie. It looks like he’s about to do the same to the Mac.
Brichter sent out a series of teasing tweets today indicating that Tweetie Two is coming soon for the Mac. One, from his atebits account, reads:
Ready… ready?! News about Tweetie Tw… ROOOOOAAAAR!! NOOOO DON’T EAT M *BLAM BLAM*. *CHOMMMPP* Aaaaararrrrrgghhhhhh.
Earlier this month we did a preview of Tweetie 2.1, the latest version of the popular iPhone Twitter client. Today, it has just hit the App Store as a free download for Tweetie 2 owners. While the .1 increment may make it seem like this update isn’t that big of a deal, the latest version actually packs a number of big updates.
Previously, we went over the way Tweetie 2.1 integrates new-style Retweets and Geotagging, but another big addition that developer Loren Brichter was able to squeeze in is new Twitter List support. While it’s perhaps not as obvious as it should be (it’s in the “more” tab at the bottom of the app), Lists are not only viewable in Tweetie 2.1, but you can edit/create them as well. → Read More
Today brings good news for PC users everywhere. Seesmic is launching a native desktop client for Windows. Seesmic’s founder and CEO Loic Le Meur made the announcement today at Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles. Le Meur says that providing a desktop client that was native for Windows was of huge importance because 80 percent of Seesmic users run their apps on a PC.
There are a few native Twitter clients out there to have been formatted for the Mac, such as Tweetie and Twitterfic. Windows users have previously limited options when it comes to native Twitter clients and are forced to either used web-based clients or use desktop clients like TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop. These are both based Adobe’s AIR platform, which is notorious for eating up memory and CPU cycles, along with weird window placement quirks. → Read More
Back in June, we wrote about Birdfeed, an iPhone Twitter application that finally brought the speed and simplicity to rival what many consider to be the top client, Tweetie. It’s a great app that offers a different look and feel from Tweetie (and especially now Tweetie 2), which some users prefer. And it’s about to gain a key feature which could further differentiate it: Geolocation.
Now, to be clear, as we previewed last month, the upcoming version of Tweetie, 2.1, will also support Twitter’s new geolocation feature. But the new version of Birdfeed, 1.2, does it in a way that highlights it much more. And in fact, when Twitter geolocation support finally does roll out (it’s due very soon, we hear), Birdfeed has a good shot to be the go-to app for it at launch. → Read More
Earlier this week, Seesmic rolled out support for the new Twitter Lists for its Desktop client. Today, that same functionality comes to its web-based client. And with it comes a bonus: Geolocation support.
Now, to be clear, most users still won’t be able to use this geolocation support just yet, as Twitter has yet to enable it for most users. But if you do happen to have it, Seesmic supports it. As you can see in the screenshot, it looks pretty nice. If you see a little location marker on a tweet, you can hover over it to bring up a Google Map overlay showing where that tweet was sent from. → Read More
By now, Tweetie 2 has probably stormed your iPhone. If not, you should check it out; in our opinion, it’s the best Twitter iPhone app out there (and yes, definitely worth the $3 [iTunes link]). But developer Loren Brichter isn’t resting on his laurels. Instead, he’s hard at work on Tweetie 2.1.
So what’s new? Well, there are a ton of small bug fixes, but also some pretty big additions. There are two that you’ll probably care the most about: New-style rewtweets and geolocation support. We got an early alpha build of 2.1 to try out, and it’s looking good. → Read More
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